The saying about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted springs to mind.

Not that it’s the fault of the Essex Rural Commission. The commission – launched last October at the behest of Essex County Council – is an independent, big-name delegation which, by June, has to come up with ten ideas to revolutionise the lives of those who live in villages.

It isn’t a question of identifying the main problems. Even townies can suggest reasons why rural life is difficult – no shops, no public transport, no pub, no community centre, expensive housing and, in nearly 50 per cent of villages, no post office, no GP surgery and no cashpoint. To live comfortably in a village today and think it a rural idyll, you need money.

But villages used to have everything they needed. It was only as society became wealthier and more car and supermarket-orientated that everything began to change.

Which is where the commission comes in. The county council doesn’t want dormitory villages; it wants thriving communities which are made up of young and old – families, the wealthy, the not-so-wealthy, local workers and commuters. And it wants them healthy and content.

As 70 per cent of the county’s land is rural with a 350-mile coastline, the commission knows it has to come up with solutions which will improve the lives of tens of thousands of men, women and children – and it doesn’t have much time to do it.

The latest meeting was at Ingatestone Hall, the county’s grandest Tudor mansion, near Chelmsford. On the agenda? Improving quality of life – and that appears to begin with the village school. While nowhere near under threat, they pose, declared Neil Keylock, “a number of challenges”.

Out of a total of 470 primary schools in Essex, 86 are Church of England or voluntary controlled and about 120 are classed as rural. Of these, some are on the outskirts of towns; others have to survive in far more isolated areas. All, though, have similar problems.

“One is the recruitment – and retention – of head teachers and staff,” pointed out Mr Keylock, the county council’s school organisation and planning manager.

“Another involves how these schools are funded. Then there is the delivery of the curriculum because many of these schools can only function with mixed-age teaching.

“Finally, we have falling rolls.”

Mr Keylock stressed that did not mean there should be closures.

“Essex County Council has a history of supporting small, rural primary schools. It is in favour of keeping rural schools open as long as the balance between budget and education is good.”

The Rev Canon Peter Hartley believes having one head in charge of two schoools would keep the schools open and be “a more attractive package” to potential head teachers.

“But we are in the business of making sure all children at all schools are getting a good education,” said Canon Hartley, director of education for the Chelmsford Diocese.

“If we cannot do that, then the school may not be worth saving.”

But he revealed that while both the diocese and the county council had a “good grasp” of village demographics, they were not as confident about the state of the housing market. Essex has to absorb thousands of new homes in the next few years, but the recession has put most of that house building on hold.

“We know some of that build will impact on rural areas, but as everything is up in the air at the moment we do not know how it will affect the numbers in rural primary schools.”

Keith Cheeseman pointed to bigger problems – isolation and health.

“We have to find a way of drawing communities together to help themselves,” insisted Mr Cheeseman, the county council’s community wellbeing project manager.

“Older people in rural communities can feel isolated, especially when there are no shops and no public transport.”

The problem for volunteers in rural communities – and there are 270 parishes in Essex – was red tape. Form-filling and bureaucracy were “real burdens” facing a community which wanted to help itself, and that could be where the village agent scheme comes in – a project to put a local specialist in every parish, whose duties would include “signposting” residents to other services.

“The best thing individuals can do for their health and physical wellbeing?” wondered Mr Cheeseman. “Engage with the countryside and walk the coastline.”

And, hopefully, let the Essex Rural Commission sort out the rest.

RURAL PROBLEMS

  • 43 per cent of people in rural areas are unhappy with bus services
  • In the past five years, 34 per cent of parishes have had shop closures
  • 48 per cent of parishes have no general store, 29 per cent have no GP surgery or public transport to get to a doctor and 42 per cent have no shop, post office or cashpoint
  • Insufficient affordable housing.

RURAL PANEL

  • Chairman Professor Jules Pretty
  • Deputy chairman Elinor Goodman
  • Professor Germaine Greer
  • Mary Maskell: Great Bentley campaigner
  • Simon Brice: Essex farmer
  • Canon John Brown: Essex Rural Partnership
  • John Clayton: Essex Chambers of Commerce
  • Tim Oliver: Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)
  • Tony Tuckwell: educationalist

The commission has been established to help Essex County Council support rural areas. To take part, complete the council’s online survey at essex.gov.uk/ruralcommission (see Related Links) or ring 01245 437195.